This report is the second in a series published by the IDEAL (Impact of Distance Education on Adult Learning) project. The IDEAL project ran from October 2013 to September 2015 with financial support from the EU Lifelong Learning Programme. The project aims to: (1) offer insights on the needs of adult learners to both policymakers and distance education providers; (2) strengthen the social dimension of higher education by better meeting the needs of adult learners; and (3) increase the participation of adult learners in higher education through distance education. The aim of this second report is to examine the social profile and experiences of students in European distance education (higher education), and sets out to answer the following questions: (1) What is the current student body in distance education?; (2) What are the motivations of students to consider distance education?; (3) What are the main barriers to access?; and (4) What kind of support do adult learners expect to get during their studies? The following are appended: (1) Glossary of key terms; and (2) Country of residence and country of provider tables. [For the first report, "Distance Education in European Higher Education--The Offer," see ED560484. For the third report, "Distance Education in European Higher Education--The Potential," see ED560486.]